Decapitator



F. S. RECE.

DECAPITATOR.

APPUCATION FILED 0CT.24, 1919.

1,349,916. Patqnfed Aug. 17, 1920.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

, jfiwwiar [901% 15 Pew by Fflm y s UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK S. RECE, 0F DALLAS, TEXAS.

DECAPITATOR.

T 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, FRANK S. Been, a citizen of the United States, residing at Dallas, in the county of Dallas and State of Texas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Decapitators, of which the' following is a specification.

This invention has for its object the simplification of the construction of the decapitator upon which Letters Patent No. 1,310,294, were granted to me July 15, 1919, whereby the process of manufacture will be expedited and the cost of the same reduced, while at the same time the efliciency of the device will be promoted.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a perspective view of a decapitator embodying my present improvements;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken in a plane parallel with and between the sides of the stock;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4: is a vertical section on the line 4.& of Fig. 2; v

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the blank from which the stock is formed;

Fig. 6 is a plan view of the cutter;

Fig. 7 is a plan view of the blank for the handle;

Fig. 8 is a detail.

In carrying out the present iiwention, I form the stock from a blank 1 which, as shown in Fig. 5, consists of two substantially similar leaves 2 and 3 joined through the greater portion of their adjacent side edges by a longitudinal web 4. In one end of each leaf 2 and 3, I form perforations or openings 5 and adjacent the said ends the blank may be scored upon the lines 6 to facilitate the subsequent folding. This scoring, however, is not necessary inasmuch as the fold will be upon a line coincident with the adj acent end of the web 4 and the scoring may be dinicult inasmuch as the blank will be formed of sheet metal. Intermediate its ends, each leaf is constructed with an L- shaped or bayonet slot or notch 7 and on the outer edge of the leaf 3, immediately adjacent the said bayonet slot or notch at each side of the same, is a lip 8 which may be folded upon aline coincident with the edge of the leaf and of such width that when the blank is folded to form the stock the said lips will bridge the space betweenthe edges Specification of Letters Patent. Patented A g 17 1920 Application filed October 24, 1919.

Serial No. 332,983.

of the leaves. At the ends of the leaves re mote from the openings 5, I provide the longitudinally disposed slots 9 which are so located that their inner ends will be alined with the adjacent end of the web 4: and in the drawings I have shown additional similar slots 10 spaced inwardly from the slots 9 and in alinement therewith. The purpose of these slots will presently appear, but it may be now stated that the slots 10 may be dispensed with without any loss of efficiency in the completed device. In forming the stock from the blank shown in Fig. 5, the said blank is first folded along the web 4 so that the leaves 2 and 3 will be brought into parallelism and the said leaves are then folded upon the lines 6 so that the portions containing the openings 5 will extend laterally from the respective leaves to form feet or securing flanges 11. The lips 8 are folded. so as to bridge the space between the free edges of the leaves, as clearly shown in Fig. 1, the free edges of the lips lying flush with the outer face of the wing 2 and bearing against the front edge of said wing. The upper ends of the leaves are folded out wardly along the lines 12'coincident with the upper ends of the slots 9 so that lateral lips or abutments 13 will be formed. The stock will thus be completed and may be secured upon a base block or other fixed support 14 by inserting screws or similar devices 15 through the perforations or openings 5 as will be readily understood.

The cutter consists of a narrow shank or stem 16 of sheet metal having a head 17 at its lower end which head is wider than the shank and has its lower edge 18 disposed obliquely so that a blade designed to make a shear cut will be produced. The width of the blade should be approximately equal to the distance between the web 4 and the lips 8 of the completed stock so that when the parts are assembled the said web andlips will form efficient guides for the blade in the operation of the cutter and, by reference to Fig. 2, it will be noted that the blade is so disposed within the stock that its longer vertical edge will be at the front of the stock whereby the blade, when brought in contact with the neck of the fowl, will aid in holding said neck in proper position within the stock. The upper end of the head or blade 17 presents shoulders 19 which form stops to limit the upward movement of the blade as will presently appear. In assembling the cutter with the stock, the cutter is inserted with the blade downward through the upper open end of the stock and after the blade has passed below the slots 10, if said slots be employed, a clip plate orstirrup 20 is in serted through the said slots, the ends of the said stirrup or clip projecting through the stock and beyond the'si-de of the same to receive a retaining pin 21. Obviously, the sides of the clip or stirrup 2O serve as guides for the cutter by their engagement with the shank of the same anu'also serve'as a stop to limit the upward movement of the cutter through the contact of the shoulders 19 with the lower edges of the stirrup, as shown in Fig-2. A second stirrup 22, similar in all respects tothe stirrup 20, is inserted through the slots 9 and held therein by a pin 23 which is a duplicate of the pin 21. The shank of the cutter is thus very effectually guided in the movements of the cutter so that all wabbling'or lateral movement of the cutter is eliminated. Inasmuch, however, as the bridging lips 8 and the web l constituting the back of the stock furnish extended guides for the cutter by their engagement with the front and rear edges of the blade the lower clip or stirrup 20 may be omitted and this will be done where a shorter stock is desired. After the cutter has been placed in position within the stock as just described, a coiled spring Q-l is fitted over and around the shank with its lower end resting upon the abutment lips 13. The upper end of the shank is then equipped with a handleconstructed from a sheet metal blank shown in Fig. 7 and consisting of a central elliptical body 25 having narrow tongues 26 extending from its ends. The tongues 26 are folded under the body 25 upon the lines 27 coincident with the ends of thevbody and are then folded laterally upon the lines 28 .so as to project from the body at right angles tothe same and at a distance apart approximately equal to the thickness of the shank. The parallel portions of the tongues are then placed against the opposite sides of the shank at the upper end of the same'and fastening screws or rivets 29 are mserted through the openings 30 in the tongues and openings 31 in the upper end of the shank alining with the openings so that the handle Wlll be permanently secured to the shank. The side or arcuate edges of the body 25 may be bent slightly downwardly, as shown most clearlyin Fig. 2;, so that the presser plate presented by the body will be comfortable tothe hand of the operator. It will be readily noted upon reference to the drawings that the spring 24 bears against the under side of the handle and the ends of the tongues '26 are adapted to impinge upon the lips or abutments 13 of the stock when the cutter is lowered so as to limit the downward movement of the cutter and prevent excessive compression and consequent cramping of the spring 2% The operation of the device is substantially the same as the operation of the de capitator disclosed in my hereinbefore mentioned patent. The fowl to be beheaded is held in position with its neck in the lower end of the slots 7 and its head against one side of the stock. The cutter is then lowered by pressure exerted upon the handle so that the blade will pass across the open 7 of the slots 7 and cut across the neck of the fowl quickly and without causing unnecessary pain. Upon release of the presser, the spring 24: will expand andraise the cutter which will be limited in its upward movement by the contact of the shoulders with the retaining and guiding stirrup, as previously stated. By my present construc tion, a smaller blank may be employed'i'or the stock and the formation of the sto k fromthe blank will be expeditedso that tile cost of manufacture will be very appre-' ciably reduced without, any loss of strength in the finished article or decrease in cien'cy of the apparatus; The bridging lips 8 effectually prevent movement of the. blade through the front of the stock so that the cutting edge is brought firmly against the neck of the animal in every instance and the front longer vertical .edge of the blade should be of such length that it will not leave the upper bridge before'it engages the lower bridge. After the parts have been once properly assembled, it-is not necessary to remove the handle from the cutter in order to sharpen the blade or make other repairs which may be found necessary. Should it be necessary to remove the cutter from the stock, the guiding andretaining stirrups are withdrawn after which the cut ter may be lifted bodily through the top of the stock and,.of course, the parts may be reassembled by reversing the steps. The spring'is very easily and quickly placed in 7 position upon the cutter and the cutter and sprlng very quickly brought into proper position relative to the stock. Moreover, by my present construction, I am enabled to produce the finished article from less material than has heretofore been necessary. The handle or presser knob or plate em ployed in my present construction may be very. cheaply and rapidly produced and when in position will present a broad surface for the hand of the operator which will permit him to exert all necessary pressure without any discomfort to himself. The blade need not be made from tool steel but may be formed from the same material as the stock, preferably cheap cold roller sheet metal, the edge of the blade being case hardened. It is to be understood that while I have illustrated the slots 9 and 10 and a generally be employed as I can then use a shorter and, therefore, lighter and cheaper stock, but if the exigencies of manufacture should necessitate the use of a narrow blade it will be desirable to use both stirrups, in which event the lips 8 may be omitted.

Having thus described the invention,- what is claimed as new is:

1. In a decapitator, the combination of a stock comprising parallel leaves having outstanding abutments at their upper ends and provided with openings to receive the neck of a fowl to be beheaded, said leaves being joined by longitudinal web at their back edges and having lips bridging the space between their front edges, a cutter fitted be tween the leaves of the stock for vertical movement and having its blade guided by said web and said lips, a handle on the upper end of the cutter, and a spring coiled around the cutter between said handle and the abutments at the upper end of the stock.

2. In a decapitator, the combination of a stock having an open top, a cutter mounted in and guided by the stock and extending through the top of the same, a handle on the upper end of the cutter having depending tongues adapted to impinge against the upper end of the stock and thereby limit the downward movement of the cutter, a spring coiled around the cutter between the top of the stock and the handle on the cutter, and means on the stock for limiting the upward movement of the cutter.

In a decapitator, the combination of a stock consisting of parallel leaves, a web joining the back edges of said leaves and lips bridging the front edges thereof, a cutter mounted between the leaves and guided by the leaves, said web and said lips, yieldable means for holding the cutter normally raised, means for depressing the cutter, and means for limiting the movement of the cutter.

4. The herein described blank for a decapitator stock consisting of leaves having their adjacent edges connected by a longitudinal web which terminates short of the opposite ends of the leaves, each of said leaves being provided with an L-shaped slot and each leaf being provided with longitudinally disposed slots near one end, and lips projecting from the outer edge of one of the leaves at the opposite sides of the slot in said leaf.

In testimony whereof afiix my signature.

FRANK S. REOE. [L.S.] 

